Good news and bad news here. After leaving the arena last night on crutches after suffering a knee injury, MRI results indicate that Chandler has avoided any structural damage, which is a huge break for the Knicks. That’s the good news.

The bad news? He’s been slapped with the “bone bruise” designation — an injury that rivals football’s “turf toe” for its unpredictability in return time. Chandler is officially listed as day-to-day, but as we’ve seen recently, a significant bone bruise can still derail an entire season. Just ask Eric Gordon about that. Still, it sounds like Chandler thinks he’ll be sidelined only temporarily.

New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler has been listed as day-to-day after an MRI revealed a bone bruise in his left knee, the team announced Thursday.

Chandler left the Nassau Coliseum on crutches, but he said he was optimistic that he’ll be ready for the season opener on Nov. 1 against the Nets at the brand new Barclays Center.

“I’m sure I’ll stay off it the next couple of days and then pick up work with my teammates leading into the first game of the season,” he said.

Now probably isn’t the time for any doom and gloom, considering this injury could have been much, much worse. Chandler is the Knicks most indispensable player, especially with Marcus Camby and Amare Stoudemire still sidelined. He’s the heart and soul of an improved defense and an incredibly efficient scorer on a team that doesn’t have an awful lot of those hanging around. He’s a game-changing type of backline presence, and the one Knicks star you can actually design a roster around. Losing him for the season — which wasn’t out of the equation last night — would have been catastrophic.

Chandler and the Knicks are far from out of the woods yet, but a guarded exhale is probably in order here.